Oh Dear Ashley Now Bans The FANS!

01 November 2013 12:46

Viewed : 239

SS dictator Mike Ashley and his Stormtroopers have not only banned the local newspapers . but anyone who says he is a nobhead. What next? WHAT A NOBHEAD!

In the same week that the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun were banned from access to Newcastle United following a dispute over our coverage of the Time 4 Change protest march, the only elected fans' body Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST) is claiming that it has also been "barred" from attending future forums.

Mike Ashley before the Man City match

The Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST) published a statement on their Facebook page earlier today.

It says that the group has been "barred" from attending future forums at Newcastle in a row involving their publication of minutes from the first meeting they attended.

Here is the statement published earlier today by NUST:

"As the only elected body representing fans, the board of Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) welcomed the invitation to take up a permanent position on the Fans Forum organised by Newcastle United.

"The Trust looked forward to the chance to interact with club officials on behalf of our members, with the opportunity to ask pertinent questions and report back to the membership afterwards.

Mike Ashley in his seat at St James' Park

"The inaugural meeting of the Forum took place in September and little were we to suspect that the NUST permanent position would last only one night.

"The Trust made clear that we reserved the right to report back to our members as to what went on at the Fans Forum, the club confirming via their Fans Liaison Officer that they accepted this.

"Questions were duly asked (many supplied by our members following an online survey) at the Forum by the NUST representative, Peter Fanning, and a lively meeting produced many interesting topics of discussion.

"Two days later, NUST published Peter Fanning’s overview of the meeting and it attracted a lot of publicity, due mainly to the nature of the topics covered but also the fact the Newcastle United minutes didn’t appear until 24 hours after they’d been advertised to be released.

"When the club minutes did belatedly appear, nothing of substance that had been reported by NUST was contradicted in Newcastle United’s official feedback.

"However, the spirit of openness has dramatically ended and NUST have been informed by Newcastle United that their ‘permanent’ place at the Fans Forum has now been withdrawn, the only democratically elected organisation open to the whole of the NUFC fanbase, barred from attending the next meeting in December and all subsequent Fan Forums.

"So, in the same week that the Trust organised a successful conference on fan engagement at Newcastle University Business School, covered by the BBC and attended by delegates from all over the country, the club have barred the local press and the only elected fans’ body from interacting with Newcastle United.

"At the same time at a national level, the Government’s Culture Media and Sports Select Committee have recommended that football clubs develop meaningful and structured relationships with supporters.

"They say the first casualty of war is the truth. The fans and local media don’t want to be at war with our football club, we just want a well run Newcastle United that values all of its supporters and the integral part NUFC plays at the heart of the local community."

IDEAL FOR CHRISTMAS MAGPIES IN EUROPE - HARVEY TO PARDEW

The new version of "Magpies In Europe" will be launched next week.

Although NUFC are not talking to the Chronicle or Sunday Sun . we are!

And the full story is expected to be in newspapers within the next two weeks.

The official new title is "Magpies In Europe - Harvey To Pardew" and is an up-dated version of "From Antwerp To Zurich" - which includes the 14 Europa League fixtures we played last season.

The 280-page book features match reports from the 134 European matches Newcastle United have played, starting with the memorable 4-0 win over Feyenoord in 1968 on our European debut.

Included are stats and the figures you would expect, but also each away fixture has the remarkable experiences of individuals who travelled to watch the matches.

Introduction by "Big Bad" John McNamee, part of the Fairs Cup winning team of 1969.

It is a fascinating history that every Newcastle United fan will enjoy.

And with a limited print-run, make sure you order a copy.

DON'T MISS OUT!

More details will be announced this week about where it will be sold, but we are selling it MAIL ORDER for £8.95 (but postage will be £1.50 extra).

(*Or we will be selling them for £8.95 prior to home games in Newcastle)